Left (Tie).
はかなしやいつまで花の散らじとて春をとめたる景色なるらん
| hakanashi ya itsu made hana no chiraji tote haru o tometaru keshiki naruran |
How piteous! That the blossom should never Fall – the words Cling on to spring, Or so it seems… |
169
Right (Tie).
飽かざりし花のかたみと見る春をいま幾日かはあらんとすらん
| akazarishi hana no katami to miru haru o ima ikuka wa aran to suran |
Never surfeited of Blossom are my memories Of Spring; Now, a few days: Do only they remain? |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
170
The Right say that the Left’s poem ‘gives the impression that Spring has passed and yet blossoms remain’ (meaning it’s unsuited to the topic, which is about the last days of spring), while the Left say the final line of the Right’s poem, ‘sounds weak.’
Shunzei disagrees, ‘The final section of the Right’s poem gives an emphatic impression. However, both ‘ should never’ (itsu made) and ‘now, a few days’ (ima ikuka wa) jointly have such a similar spirit [of spring shortly ending] that it is not possible to determine a winner or loser between the two poems.’